Transfer device

ABSTRACT

The user of a mobile station which is prepared to receive information providing services from unspecified IP (Information Providers) accesses a gateway server and performs a pre-registration procedure (S 71 ). When an IP server has information to provide to users, it constructs the information in the form of electronic mail, appends user attribute data, and sends this to the gateway server (S 72 ). Upon receiving electronic mail with attribute data, the gateway server stores the electronic mail in a third mailbox, makes a comparison of the user attributes, and calls the mobile stations of relevant users (S 73 ). A user who has received a call requests a download of the electronic mail from the gateway server (S 74 ). The gateway server sends electronic mail to the mobile station which made the request (S 75 , S 76 ).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/006,195 filed on Dec. 6, 2004, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/508,496 filed on Mar. 8, 2000, now abandonedwhich is a 371 national phase application of PCT/JP99/04636 filed onAug. 27, 1999 which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.10/242318 filed on Aug. 27, 1998. The entire contents of theseapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a push-type information transmissionmethod which provides information from a server device to a plurality ofuser terminals via a network, and a transfer device thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

Pull-type information transmission wherein a user accesses a serverdevice of an information provider from a communication terminal such asa personal computer or the like to download desired information has beenknown conventionally in the field of information providing serviceswhich use the Internet.

Additionally, push-type information transmission wherein information isprovided to the user from the server side without awaiting access by auser has been proposed in recent years.

Communication networks have become more complicated and diversified oflate, so that the forms of networks in which various routers existbetween the server device and the user terminal such as by interposing agateway device between networks with different protocols have alsoincreased.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

As the forms of networks continue to diversify as discussed above,various forms of information transmission services will become possible.As one example, it is possible to supplement a portion of the servicesinvolved in information transmission with a gateway unit instead ofserver device.

The present invention was made in view of these considerations, and hasthe purpose of offering a new form of push-type information transmissionmethod and transfer device thereof, capable of supplementing a part ofthe services involved in information transmission between a serverdevice and a user terminal instead of the server device.

In order to resolve the above problems, a first aspect of the presentinvention is a push-type information transmission method in ancommunication network including an information provider server device, aplurality of user terminals for receiving information provided by theserver device, and a transfer device for routing informationtransmission between the server device and the user terminal; whereinthe transfer device comprises:

a step of receiving information mail supplied with a network address ofa user terminal designated as a desired destination from the serverdevice;

a step of storing the information mail;

a step of calling the user terminal whose network address has beendesignated; and

a step of transmitting the stored information mail in response to arequest from the called user terminal.

Additionally, in the above-described first aspect of the presentinvention, the user terminal may comprise a step of pre-accessing theserver device and registering its own network address with the serverdevice as a registration procedure for receiving an informationtransmission service offered by the server device, and the server deviceprovides information to user terminals which have completed theregistration.

Additionally, a second aspect of the present invention is a push-typeinformation transmission method in an communication network including aninformation provider server device, a plurality of user terminals forreceiving information provided by the server device, and a transferdevice for routing information transmission between the server deviceand the user terminal; wherein the transfer device comprises:

a step of pre-storing information relating to user terminals which areto receive an information providing service offered by the serverdevice;

a step of receiving information mail supplied from the server device;

a step of storing the information mail;

a step of calling a relevant user terminal based on the pre-storedinformation relating to user terminals which are to receive aninformation providing service; and

a step of transmitting the stored information mail in response to arequest from the called user terminal.

Additionally, in the above-described second aspect of the presentinvention, the user terminal may comprise a step of pre-accessing theserver device and registering its own network address with the serverdevice as a registration procedure for receiving an informationtransmission service offered by the server device, such that due to thisstep, information relating to the user terminals which are to receiveinformation providing services offered by the server device ispre-stored.

Additionally, a third aspect of the present invention is a push-typeinformation transmission method in an communication network including aninformation provider server device, a plurality of user terminals forreceiving information provided by the server device, and a transferdevice for routing information transmission between the server deviceand the user terminal; wherein the transfer device comprises:

a step of storing user attribute data of each user and network addressesof the user terminals in correspondence;

a step of receiving information mail supplied from the server devicetogether with attribute information of users designated as desireddestinations;

a step of storing the received information mail;

a step of comparing the stored user attribute data and the designateduser attribute data, and specifying network addresses of user terminalscorresponding to users having the designated attributes;

a step of calling the specified user terminals; and

a step of sending the stored information mail in response to a requestfrom the called user terminals.

Additionally, in the above-mentioned third aspect of the presentinvention, the user terminal may comprise a step of pre-accessing theserver device and registering its own network address with the serverdevice as a registration procedure for receiving an informationtransmission service offered by the server device, the transfer devicecalling up user terminals which have completed the registration.

Additionally, a fourth aspect of the present invention is a transferdevice for routing information transmissions between an informationprovider server device and a plurality of user terminals for receivingthe information provided by the server device, comprising:

receiver for receiving information mail supplied from the server devicetogether with a network address of a user terminal designated as adesired destination;

storage means for storing the received information mail;

calling means for calling the user terminal whose network address hasbeen designated; and

transmitter for transmitting the stored information mail in response torequests from the called user terminal.

Additionally, a fifth aspect of the present invention is a transferdevice for routing information transmissions between an informationprovider server device and a plurality of user terminals for receivingthe information provided by the server device, comprising:

memory for pre-recording information relating to a user terminal whichis to receive an information providing service offered by the severdevice;

receiver for receiving information mail supplied from the server device;

storage means for storing the received information mail;

calling means for calling relevant user terminals based on informationrelating to the pre-recorded user terminal which is to receive aninformation providing service; and

transmitter for transmitting the stored information mail in response torequests from the called user terminal.

Additionally, a sixth aspect of the present invention is a transferdevice for routing information transmissions between an informationprovider server device and a plurality of user terminals for receivingthe information provided by the server device, comprising:

memory for recording user attribute information and a network address ofthe user terminal in correspondence with each other with respect to eachuser;

receiver for receiving from the server device information mail suppliedtogether with attribute information of a user designated as a desireddestination;

storage means for storing the received information mail;

specifying means for comparing the recorded user attribute informationwith the designated user attribute information, and specifying networkaddresses of user terminals which correspond to user having thedesignated attributes;

calling means for calling the specified user terminals; and

transmitter for transmitting the stored information mail in response torequests from the called user terminals.

Additionally, in the present invention, the server device may belong toa first communication network which follows a first communicationprotocol, and the plurality of user terminals may belong to a secondcommunication network which follows a second communication protocoldifferent from that of the first communication network; and the transferdevice may be a gateway for converting between the first and secondprotocols and routing the exchange of information mails.

Additionally, in the present invention, the plurality of user terminalsmay be given first network addresses used only on the firstcommunication network and are discriminated on the first communicationnetwork by second network addresses which have a one-to-onecorrespondence with the first network addresses in the secondcommunication network; and the transfer device may be such as to convertbetween addresses in the first network and addresses in the secondnetwork.

Additionally, in the present invention, the second communication networkmay be a local network accommodating specific user terminals; and thefirst communication network may be a global network interconnectinginformation resources such as the server device to which are allottedidentification information for identifying an absolute address in thenetwork.

Additionally, in the present invention, the second communication networkmay be a mobile communication network accommodating a plurality of userterminals which are mobile terminals; and the first communicationnetwork may be the Internet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall structure of a systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a data format diagram showing the contents of a subscriberdatabase according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the structure of a gateway serveraccording to the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the basic operations of pull-typeinformation transmission according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the basic operations of push-typeinformation transmission according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a first embodiment of theservices according to the same push-type information transmission.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a second embodiment of theservices according to the same push-type information transmission.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a billing procedure for the case of thesame pull-type information transmission.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a billing procedure for the case of thesame push-type information transmission.

FIG. 10 is a screen transition diagram for explaining a variant of thepresent invention.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Herebelow, an embodiment of the present invention shall be explainedwith reference to the drawings. This embodiment is structured as asystem wherein the present invention is applied to a mobile packetcommunication network. The present invention is not restricted to thefollowing embodiment, and various modifications are possible within therange of the technical concept thereof.

A: Structure of Embodiment

(1) Overall Structure of System

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the presentinvention.

In the drawing, MS denotes a mobile station which receives packetcommunication services from a mobile packet communication network MPN.This mobile station MS is connected not only to the mobile packetcommunication network MPN shown in the drawing, but also to a mobiletelephone network which is not shown, and is therefore capable ofreceiving mobile telephone services as well. The mobile station MScomprises an voice input-output portion for a user to perform voicecommunications, a radio portion for performing radio communications witha base station BS, an information display portion comprising a liquidcrystal panel or the like and an operating portion where informationinput operations such as number input and character input are performed,and also has an internal microcomputer for controlling these parts.Additionally, the mobile station MS has software (i.e. a browser) forbrowsing HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) document data (hereinafterreferred to as HTML data), and displays an interactive screen for theuser based on HTML data supplied from an information provider(hereinafter abbreviated to IP) via a mobile packet communicationnetwork.

Additionally, the mobile packet communication network MPN comprises abase station BS, a packet processing module PS, a gateway server GWS, asubscriber database UDB, a billing system BILL and a communication linefor connecting these elements.

The base stations BS are positioned at predetermined intervals obtainedby dividing the ground into ranges of e.g. a radius of 500 m, andperform radio communications with mobile stations MS visiting the radiozones formed thereby.

The packet processing module PS is a computer system provided in apacket switching center accommodating a plurality of base stations BS,which receives packet switching requests from the mobile stations MS(packet switching service registration to be explained below), andperforms the switching of packets in the mobile packet communicationnetwork.

The gateway server GWS is a computer system provided in a mobile packetgateway switching center for interconnecting the mobile packetcommunication network MPN with other networks such as the Internet INET,which converts communication protocols which differ between thenetworks. Specifically, conversions are made between the transmissionprotocol for mobile packet communications networks used by the mobilepacket communication network MPN and the TCP/IP used in other networkssuch as the Internet INET. Additionally, the gateway server GWS works incooperation with the IP server W, the subscriber database UDB and thebilling system BILL to perform control relating to the variousapplications, such as information providing services and billingprocedures for information transmission.

The subscriber database UDB stores a subscriber registration informationfile composed of information relating to subscribers of the mobilepacket communication network MPN and an IP registration information filecomposed of registration information of the IP (Information Provider).FIG. 2 is a data format diagram showing an example of the content ofthis subscriber database UDB. As shown in the drawing, the subscriberregistration information file contains attribute data indicating theattributes of each subscriber such as the telephone number of the mobilestation MS, name, sex, birthdate and address for each subscriber (i.e.the user of the mobile station MS) in the mobile packet communicationnetwork MPN. Additionally, the IP registration information file containsthe company name and the absolute address on the network (e.g. in thecase of the Internet, the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) which specifiesthe information resources on the WWW (World Wide Web); herebelow, theabsolute network address in the present embodiment shall be referred toas the URL), information indicating whether the type of billing is IPbilling or not, and information indicating whether the type of billingdepends on the amount or is fixed-rate, for each IP which is contractedto receive gateway services with the company which runs this mobilepacket communication network MPN. Here, IP billing refers to billing forinformation transmissions service which is performed not with respect tothe user who received the transmission service, but with respect to theinformation provider. On the other hand, billing with respect to theuser shall hereinafter be referred to as user billing.

The billing system BILL calculates the fees for the providing ofservices based on service history information supplied from the gatewayserver, and issues a bill to the user or the IP. While billing typesinclude user billing and IP billing as well as amount-dependent andfixed-rate, the billing system BILL performs billing in accordance witheach billing type.

The IP server W is a server system run by the IP, which sendsinformation to be provided to the users over a network in an HTML dataformat. The IP server W can be connected to the gateway server GWS viaan exclusive line or the Internet INET, can be provided inside thegateway server GWS which is provided by the owner of the mobile packetcommunication network MPN (hereafter referred to as an IP server W-MAX).

(2) Structure of Gateway Server

Next, the structure of the gateway server GWS shall be explained. FIG. 3is a block diagram showing the structure of a gateway server GWS. In thedrawing, the gateway server GWS comprises a system control portionI-MAX, a user information managing portion U-MAX, a billing managingportion P-MAX, an electronic mail managing portion M-MAX, an IP serverW-MAX and a bus BUS for connecting these parts.

The system control portion I-MAX controls the various portions of thegateway server GWS, and functions as an interface between networks suchas by performing protocol conversion between the mobile packetcommunication network MPN and other networks such as the Internet INET.

The user information managing portion U-MAX stores and managessubscriber registration information and IP registration informationobtained by referencing the subscriber database UDB, as well as thecorrespondence between telephone numbers of the mobile stations and usermanagement numbers (to be explained below) and the access histories ofusers to the IP server W (for example, the number of accesses to each IPserver). Additionally, the user information managing portion U-MAXperforms conversions between the telephone numbers and user managementnumber, collation of telephone numbers and comparison of attribute databased on the above stored information.

The billing managing portion P-MAX records and manages informationnecessary for billing with respect to the information transmissionservices, and supplies this information to the billing system BILL.Specifically, it stores the fact that an electronic mail has beenreceived from the IP server W as history information, calculates thenumber of packets to be exchanged when transmitting the electronic mailto the user, and stores this calculated value. Additionally, the billingmanaging portion P-Max references the content of the subscriber databaseUDB transferred to the user information managing portion U-MAX, in orderto determine whether or not the billing type for each IP is IP billing,and whether or not it is amount-dependent, then requests billing to thebilling system BILL based on the billing type.

The electronic mail managing portion M-MAX mediates the exchange ofelectronic mail between mobile station MS users, between mobile stationMS users and users of other networks such as the Internet INET, orbetween the mobile station MS users and the IP server W. This electronicmail managing portion M-MAX is provided with mailboxes for storing theelectronic mails to be transferred for each user or for each IP serverW. There are three types of mailboxes in accordance with the type ofmail service, and these being distinguished by the addresses of theirmailboxes (mail addresses).

(i) A first mailbox BOX1 is a conventional mailbox wherein theelectronic mail transferred between users is stored at mail addressesassigned for each user.

(ii) Next, a second mailbox BOX2 is a mailbox for storing electronicmail transmitted from the IP to specific users for the purposes ofproviding information or the like. Here, a specific user is a user whohas already completed registration procedures with respect to the IP.This second mailbox BOX2 is used in a first type of service due topush-type information transmission to be described below.

(iii) Next, a third mailbox BOX3, as with the second mailbox BOX2, is amailbox for storing electronic mail transmitted from the IP to a userfor the purposes of providing information. It differs from the secondmailbox BOX2 in that instead of storing electronic mail provided tousers which have been pre-registered in the IP, it stores electronicmail provided to users having attributes (attributes such as sex, age,address, etc.) designated by the IP. This third mailbox BOX3 is used ina second type of service due to push-type information transmission to bedescribed below.

The IP server W-MAX is a server system provided by the company owningthe mobile packet communication network MPN. This IP server W-MAX, likethe other IP server W, performs services such as providing informationto the users.

B. Operations of the Embodiment

Next, operations of the embodiment having the above-described structureshall be explained.

First, information transmission shall be explained, followed by anexplanation of the billing procedures.

B-1. Information Transmission

With regard to the information transmission according to the presentembodiment, there is pull-type information transmission in which theuser of a mobile station MS receives information transmissions byaccessing the IP server W, and push-type information transmission inwhich information transmission is performed from the IP server W side tospecified or non-specified users without waiting for user access.Herebelow, the explanation shall be given separately for these types.

(1) Pull-type Information Transmission

FIG. 4 is a sequence showing a basic operation for pull-type informationtransmission.

As shown in the drawing, the mobile station MS performs a packetswitching service registration in cooperation with the packet processingmodule PS (step S1). The packet switching service registration is apreliminary registration procedure for enabling packet switching in amobile packet communication network MPS. When this packet switchingservice registration is completed, the mobile station MS sends a lineconnection request signal to the mobile packet communication network MPS(step S2). This line connection request signal is sent through thepacket processing module PS to the gateway server GWS (step S3). If aline connection is possible, then the gateway server GWS sends a lineconnection response signal through the packet processing module PS backto the mobile station MS (steps S4, S5). As a result, packet switchingbecomes possible between the mobile station MS and the gateway serverGWS.

Next, the mobile station MS sends a connection request signaldesignating the URL of a desired IP server W (step S6). This connectionrequest signal is routed through the packet processing module PS andsent to the gateway server GWS (step S7). The gateway server GWSreceives the connection request signal, and establishes a link with theIP server W of the designated URL (step S8).

When a link has been established with the gateway server GWS in thisway, the IP server W sends HTML data which has been prepared beforehandto the mobile station MS (step S9). This HTML data is routed through thegateway server GWS and transferred to the packet processing module PS(step S10). Furthermore, at the packet processing module PS, thereceived HTML data is transferred to the mobile station MS (step S11).

The operations of the above steps S6-S11 are repeatedly performed inaccordance with the amount of all of the data to be transmitted from theIP server W to the mobile station MS. At this time, the mobile stationMS interprets sequentially transmitted HTML data by means of the browserand displays the received information at the information displayportion.

When the data transmission to the mobile station MS has been completed,the mobile station MS sends an acknowledgement signal (step S12). Thepacket processing module PS transfers this acknowledgement signal to thegateway server GWS so as to make a delivery notification (step S13).When the IP server W completes the data transmission to the mobilestation MS, the link between the gateway server GWS and the IP server Wis released (step S14).

Additionally, when there is a data delivery notification from the mobilestation MS to the gateway server GWS, the gateway server GWS performs abilling procedure with respect to the information transmission. Thebilling procedure performed at this time shall be described in detailbelow.

(2) Push-type Information Transmission

First, the basic operations of the push-type information transmissionshall be explained, followed by explanations of two types of servicesdue to push-type information transmission.

(i) Basic Operations of Push-type Information Transmission

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating the basic operations ofpush-type information transmission.

In the drawing, an IP server W first sends information to be provided tousers to the gateway server GWS in the form of electronic mail (stepS21). When the gateway server GWS receives the electronic mail, itstores this in the designated mailbox and sends a communication startnotification signal to the packet processing module PS (step S22). Thiscommunication start notification signal includes information designatingthe destination address of the electronic mail. When the packetprocessing module PS receives this communication start notificationsignal, it calls the mobile station MS corresponding to the destinationaddress included in the signal (step S23).

When the user of the mobile station MS performs a specified operation onthe mobile station MS in response to the call, the same sequence as theabove-described steps S1-S5 (shown in FIG. 4) is performed, and itenters a state of being capable of packet switching with the gatewayserver GWS (steps S24-S28). Next, the gateway server GWS sends areception notification signal including the address information of themailbox in which the electronic mail is stored to the packet processingmodule PS (step S29). Furthermore, the packet processing module PS sendsthe received reception notification signal to the mobile station MS(step S30).

Upon receiving the above-described reception notification signal, themobile station MS sends a connection request signal designating theaddress of the mailbox included in the reception notification signal tothe packet processing module PS (step S31). This connection requestsignal is transferred through the packet processing module PS to thegateway server GWS (step S32). Upon receiving the connection requestsignal, the gateway server GWS sends a connection acknowledgement signalto the packet processing module PS (step S33). The packet processingmodule PS sends the received connection acknowledgement signal to themobile station MS (step S34).

Next, the gateway server GWS reads the electronic mail received from theIP server W from the mailbox whose address is designated in theconnection request signal, and transfers the electronic mail to thepacket processing module PS (step S35). Upon receiving the electronicmail, the packet processing module PS sends this mail to the mobilestation MS which issued the connection request (step S36).

The operations of the above steps S31-S36 are repeatedly performed inaccordance with the amount of data in the electronic mail to betransmitted from the IP server W to the mobile station MS.

When the mobile station MS has received the electronic mail in this way,a delivery notification is sent to the gateway server GWS in the samemanner as in steps S12 and S13 shown in FIG. 4 (steps S37, S38), and thepush-type information transmission is completed.

Additionally, if there is a data delivery notification from the mobilestation MS to the gateway server GWS, then the gateway server GWSperforms a billing procedure with respect to the informationtransmission. The billing procedure performed at this time shall bedescribed in detail below.

(ii) First Type of Service By Means of Push-type InformationTransmission

In the present embodiment, there are two types of services by means ofpush-type information transmission. A first type shall now be described.

The first type is a service of transmitting electronic mail from the IPserver for the purpose of providing certain information to users whohave completed a registration procedure with the IP beforehand, whereinthe electronic mail is stored in the second mailbox BOX2, and theelectronic mail is transmitted in response to a user request after theuser has been called.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the first type. In thisdrawing, a user who desires services such as information provision of aspecific IP operates a mobile station MS to access the network, andperforms preliminary registration procedures with respect to the IPserver (step S61). With this access, the subscriber number of the user(i.e. the telephone number of the mobile station MS) is transferred tothe gateway server GWS. The gateway server GWS converts the receivedsubscriber number into a user management number which is user identityinformation having a one-to-one correspondence with the telephone numberin the user information managing portion U-MAX in order to avoid thetelephone number being sent outside the packet communication networkMPN. This user management number is sent from the gateway server GWS tothe IP server W, and is stored in the IP server W as user registrationinformation (step S62).

Then, if the IP server W has information to be provided to a registereduser, the IP server W arranges the information as transmission data inthe form of electronic mail, appends to the electronic mail the addressof the second mailbox BOX2 and the user management number of theregistered user to which the information is to be provided, and sendsthe mail to the gateway server GWS (step S63).

When the gateway server GWS receives the electronic mail from the IPserver W, it stores the mail in the second mailbox BOX2 of theelectronic mail managing portion M-MAX, and converts the designated usermanagement number to the corresponding telephone number in the userinformation managing portion U-MAX, and calls the mobile station MS ofthat telephone number (step S64).

If the user of the mobile station MS who has received this call desiresto receive the information provided by the IP server, the user operatesthe mobile station MS to access the gateway server GWS and requests adownload of the electronic mail (step S65). The download request signalsent to the gateway server GWS at this time contains the telephonenumber of the mobile station MS which is the source of the request. Thegateway server GWS compares the telephone number of the mobile stationMS from which the request signal is originated and the telephone numbercorresponding to the user management number designated by the IP serverW at the time of reception of the electronic mail in the userinformation managing portion U-MAX, thereby judging whether or not topermit access to the second mailbox BOX2, and thereafter reads theelectronic mail from the mailbox BOX2 and sends it to the mobile stationMS (steps S66, S67).

In this way, it is possible to provide information to specific usersregistered with the IP server W.

(iii) Second Type of Service By Means of Push-type InformationTransmission

Next, the second type shall be explained. The second type is a servicewhereby electronic mail sent from the IP server for the purposes ofproviding information to users having attributes (attributes such assex, age and address) designated by the IP server is stored in a thirdmailbox BOX3, and the electronic mail is transmitted to relevant usersin response to user requests after they have been called.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a second type. In thedrawing, users who are prepared to receive services such as informationprovision from an unspecified IP operate the mobile station MS to accessthe network, and perform preliminary registration procedures withrespect to the gateway server GWS (step S71). With this access, thetelephone number of the mobile station MS is transferred to the gatewayserver GWS, and this is stored in the user information managing portionU-MAX of the gateway server GWS as user registration information.

Then, if the IP server W has information to be provided to users, the IPserver W arranges the information in electronic mail form, appendsattribute data such as sex, age and address for specifying the user tothe electronic mail, and sends the mail to the gateway server GWS (stepS72).

When the gateway server GWS receives the electronic mail containing theattribute data from the IP server W, it stores the electronic mail inthe third mailbox BOX3, and in the user information managing portionU-MAX, compares the attribute data appended to the electronic mail withthe attribute data of each user registered in the subscriber databaseUDB in order to specify relevant users. For example, if the attributesdesignated by the IP server W are “men in the thirties who live inTokyo”, then a search is made for relevant users having these attributesfrom among the users registered in the subscriber database UDB, and thetelephone number of those users are extracted. The gateway server GWScalls the mobile stations MS of the telephone numbers extracted in thisway (step S73).

If the user of a mobile station MS called in this way wishes to receivethe information provided by the IP server, the user operates the mobilestation MS to access the gateway server GWS, and requests a download ofelectronic mail (step S74). At this time, the telephone number of themobile station MS which is the source of the request is appended to thedownload request signal sent to the gateway server GWS. The gatewayserver GWS, in the user information managing portion U-MAX, compares thetelephone number of the mobile station MS from which the request signalis originated with the telephone numbers of users who have completed theabove-described registration procedure in order to judge whether or notto permit access to the third mailbox BOX3, after which it reads theelectronic mail from the third mailbox BOX3 and sends it to the mobilestation MS which made the request (steps S75, S76).

In this way, it is possible for the IP server W to perform aninformation providing service to users who desire the provision ofinformation from among users who are prepared to receive informationfrom the unspecified IP server W.

B-2: Billing Procedure

While types of billing include communication fee billing forcommunication services and information fee billing for informationproviding services of IP's, communication fee billing shall be explainedas an example in the present embodiment.

Additionally, the billing procedures for the present invention includeuser billing with respect to users who have been provided informationand IP (Information Provider) billing for billing the IP's who haveprovided the information. In the present embodiment, whether to performuser billing or IP billing is managed by different methods for the caseof pull-type information transmission and push-type informationtransmission. Both cases shall be explained below.

(1) In the Case of Pull-type Information Transmission

Generally, in the case of pull-type information transmission, theinformation is provided in accordance with a request from the user, sothat user billing is more readily applicable. However, there are casesin which the IP wishes to provide information free in response torequests from unspecified users for the purposes of advertisement or thelike, and in this case, IP billing is more readily applicable.Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the case of pull-typeinformation transmission, user billing is applied in principle and inexceptional cases where IP billing is to be applied, the IP which issubject thereto is pre-registered in the subscriber database UDB. Then,the gateway server GWS extracts from the subscriber database UDB a listof URL's of IP servers W to which IP billing is to be applied, andstores it in a memory in the billing managing portion P-MAX as anIP-billing list table.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the billing procedure for pull-typeinformation transmission. In this drawing, the user first operates themobile station MS to access a designated IP server W, and upon receivinga delivery acknowledgement signal from the user, the gateway server GWSchecks whether or not the URL of the IP server W accessed by the usercorresponds to an IP to be IP billed as listed in the above-describedtable (step S101).

Here, if it is not an IP sever to be IP-billed, then user billing isapplied as usual. In this case, the billing managing portion P-MAX ofthe gateway GWS sends a user management number of the user who receivedthe information transmission and the sum of received packet numbers tothe billing system BILL (step S102). The billing system BILL calculatesa communication fee by multiplying the sum of packets supplied from thegateway server GWS with a unit price, and issues a bill to the userspecified by the user management number (step S103).

On the other hand, if the URL of the IP server W accessed by the usercorresponds to an IP to be IP-billed, then IP billing is applied. Inthis case, the billing managing portion P-MAX of the gateway server GWSsends the sum of the received packets and the URL of the IP server Wwhich was accessed to the billing system BILL (step S104). The billingsystem BILL calculates the communication fee by multiplying the sum ofpackets supplied from the gateway server GWS with a unit price, andissues a bill to the IP (step S105).

(2) In the Case of Push-type Information Transmission

Next, the billing procedure for the case of push-type informationtransmission shall be described. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing abilling procedure for the case of push-type information transmission. Inthe drawing, when the gateway server GWS receives electronic mail fromthe IP server W in the second mailbox BOX2 or the third mailbox BOX3, itrecognizes that there has been an order for push-type informationtransmission, and decides to apply IP billing (step S201). That is, inthe case of push-type information transmission, IP billing is morereadily applicable to this type of information transmission, so that inthe present embodiment, IP billing is always applied.

Next, the gateway server GWS specifies the user to which information isto be provided as described above, then calls the mobile station MS totransmit the electronic mail received from the IP server to the mobilestation MS, but in the case of IP billing, user billing is not performedwith respect to this transmission, and the IP is billed for everything.

In this case, the billing managing portion P-MAX of the gateway serverGWS references the IP registration information stored in the subscriberdatabase UDB, and checks whether the type of billing to be applied tothe IP server W is amount-dependent or fixed-rate (step S202).

If the billing type is amount-dependent, the billing managing portionP-MAX of the gateway server GWS sends the sum of the packets exchangedin the transmission of electronic mail and the URL of the IP server Wwhich was the source of the electronic mail to the billing system BILL(step S203). The billing system BILL multiplies the sum of the packetssupplied from the gateway server GWS with a unit price to calculate thecommunication fee, and issues a bill to the IP (step S204).

On the other hand, if the billing type is fixed-rate, then the billingmanaging portion P-MAX of the gateway server GWS sends the URL of the IPserver W to the billing system BILL at the same time as the electronicmail is received from the IP server, so as to order billing to that IP(step S205). The billing system BILL receives this and issues a bill ofa standard amount to the indicated IP (step S206).

If the fixed-rate billing format is one where billing is applied to astandard period of time such as by monthly units, the IP is billedwhether or not the electronic mail from the IP server W reaches thegateway server GWS. Therefore, in this case, there is no cooperationbetween the gateway server GWS and the billing system BILL, and thebilling system BILL independently issues a bill to the IP at regularperiods.

C: Modification Examples

As previously mentioned, the present invention is not restricted to theabove-described embodiments. The present invention can have variousmodifications within the range of the technical concept of the presentinvention, for example the following.

(1) In the embodiments, information is provided to mobile stations MSbelonging to a mobile packet communication network MPN from anothernetwork such as the Internet INET (first communication network), but iffor example there exists another global network which can replace theInternet INET, then the present invention is applicable to cases whereininformation is provided from such a network to a mobile station MSbelonging to a mobile packet communication network MPN. In this case,the information resource of the IP server W can be specified by means ofan absolute address defined in the global network to which it isapplied, instead of by a URL.

Additionally, the network (second communication network) to which theuser terminal belongs is not restricted to being a mobile packetcommunication network MPN, and the invention is applicable for providinginformation to user terminals belonging to local networks such as fixednetwork which includes stationary terminals.

Furthermore, the present invention is not restricted to packet switchingnetworks, and is applicable to data communication networks which performother types of data communications, and the communication protocolsindicated in the embodiments represent only one possible example.Additionally, the form of the data transmitted from the IP server is notrestricted to HTML format, and other formats may be employed. Forexample, if the transmitted information is only text data, then it is ofcourse not necessary to employ a data format such as HTML which canhandle multimedia.

(2) In the embodiments, the communication fee billing for pull-typeinformation transmission was uniformly made amount-dependent, but thepresent invention is not limited thereto, so that it is possible toregister information indicating whether amount-dependent or fixed-ratein the subscriber database UDB as in the case of push-type informationtransmission, and to perform billing procedures in accordance with thetype of billing. In the case that a fixed-rate system is employed forpull-type information transmission, the user or IP is billed a standardamount regardless of the number of exchanged packets, as in the case ofpush-type information transmission.

Additionally, while the billing type was set for each IP in the IPregistration file of the subscriber database UDB in the embodiments, thepresent invention is not restricted thereto, and it is possible to setfor each user in the subscriber registration file. Additionally, whenwishing to set the billing type according to the IP and the user, thenthe billing type for each user can be set for each IP in the IPregistration information file, or the billing type for each IP can beset for each user in the subscriber registration information file.

(3) While only communication fee billing was explained in theembodiments for the purpose of retaining simplicity, the presentinvention can be similarly applied to information fee billing. However,when employing amount-dependent information fee billing, billing doesnot depend on the number of exchanged packets as in communication feebilling, but it is possible to apply various billing types such as forexample, billing in accordance with the number of exchanged electronicmails or when wishing to change the amount depending on the case,appending amount information concerning a mail transmission to theelectronic mail sent from the IP server W to send to the gateway serverGWS.

Additionally, in the case of information fee billing, it is possible toperform only user billing and to not perform IP billing. In this case,all of the billing types in the IP registration information file in thesubscriber database UDB can be set to user billing or the billingprocedure can be not performed with respect to IP's which are set for IPbilling.

(4) In the embodiments, the billing type in pull-type informationtransmission was decided by the gateway server GWS having a list tableof IP-billing and referencing the table, but the present invention isnot restricted thereto, and it is possible for example to appendinformation indicating whether IP billing or not by adding a tag to theHTML data sent from the IP server W, and to have the gateway server GWSdecide the billing type based on this information.

(5) The structure of the network in the embodiments is no more than onepossible example, and the present invention is not restricted to such astructure. For example, it is possible to divide up the functions amonga plurality of nodes such as by arranging into divisions of nodes havinga communication protocol converting function and nodes having otherfunctions.

(6) In the embodiments, the IP server W manages user registrationinformation with respect to the IP's in a first type of service by meansof push-type information transmission, but the present invention may besuch that the gateway server GWS handles the management of userregistration information. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, among thedialog screens displayed when a user performs registration procedureswith the IP, it is possible to send and display only a dialog screen(hereafter referred to as a registration screen) for aiding in theregistration operation as HTML data prepared by the gateway server GWSto the mobile station MS of the user, then store and manage the userregistration information at the gateway server GWS based on the userregistration procedures. In this case, it is possible for the gatewayserver GWS to find which IP server W the user has performed registrationprocedures, based on the address information such as the URL designatedwhen the user accesses the IP server W. Therefore, if the gateway serverGWS has HTML data for providing a registration screen with respect to aplurality of IP servers W in correspondence to the address informationsuch as the URL, then it is possible to specify the HTML data to be sentto the mobile station MS of the user as a registration screen based onthe address information such as the URL designated by the user.

(7) While in the embodiments, in the case of push-type informationtransmission, the user of a mobile station MS who has received a callfor electronic mail operates the mobile station MS to access the gatewayserver GWS and download the electronic mail, but the present inventionis not restricted thereto, and it is possible to make the process suchthat when the mobile station MS receives a call, it automaticallyaccesses the gateway server GWS and downloads the electronic mailwithout waiting for the instruction operations of the user.

(8) In the embodiments, IP billing is always used for push-typeinformation transmission, but the present invention is not restrictedthereto, and user billing can also be applied in the case of push-typeinformation transmission. In this case, as with the pull-typeinformation transmission described above, an IP billing list tableshould be made based on the set contents of a subscriber database UDB,this table should be referenced in order to determine whether to use IPbilling or user billing, and in the case of user billing, the proceduresappropriate for user billing should be followed.

Additionally, even in the case of exclusively IP billing, it is possibleto prepare an IP billing list table for having a list of relevant IPservers to be IP-billed, so that when there is a request for push-typeinformation transmission from an IP server not listed in this table, theinformation transmission will not be routed such as by disposing of thesent electronic mail.

1. A transfer device located in a mobile packet communication network(MPN) and interconnecting the MPN with a second, separate network, thetransfer device communicating with at least one information providerserver via the second network and communicating with a plurality of userterminals via the MPN, the transfer device comprising: at least onememory; and a processor in communication with the at least one memory,the processor of the transfer device configured to: register in the atleast one memory of the transfer device network addresses of the userterminals, corresponding attributes of users of the user terminals andinformation provider server identification information; receive, from aninformation provider server, push-type information and attributeinformation appended to the push-type information the attributeinformation describing attributes of users which are to receive thepush-type information; compare the attribute information from theinformation provider server with the registered attributes of users;determine at least one network addresses of the user terminals to sendthe push-type information to based on comparing the registeredattributes of users with the attribute information; send a communicationstart notification signal routing of which solely involves the MPN tomake at least one user terminal having the determined network addressready for packet switching with the transfer device before transmittingthe push-type information to the at least one user terminal; determine,based on the information provider server identification information,which party to bill for receiving the push-type information, either aninformation provider of the information provider server or a respectiveuser of the at least one user terminal; and at least partly bill theparty determined to be billed.
 2. The transfer device of claim 1,wherein the attributes are outside of context of the second network. 3.The transfer device of claim 1, wherein the attributes are selected fromthe group consisting of name, sex, postal address, and birth date. 4.The transfer device of claim 1, wherein comparing comprises determiningwhether the attribute information from the information provider servermatches at least one registered attribute of the user.
 5. The transferdevice of claim 1, wherein the information provider server in the secondnetwork follows a second communication protocol, wherein the pluralityof user terminals is in the MPN follows a first communication protocol,and wherein the transfer device comprises a gateway server convertingbetween the first and second communication protocols.
 6. The transferdevice of claim 5, wherein the second network comprises an Internet, andthe user terminals comprise mobile terminals.
 7. The transfer device ofclaim 1, the processor is further configured to transmit at least aportion of the push-type information to the determined networkaddresses.